Toews learns to cope with concussion

Hawks captain eager to return but cautious enough not to rush

As the severity of the symptoms increased, Jonathan Toews came to the realization it was just too dangerous to keep playing.

It was during the Blackhawks' nine-game trip in February that Toews accepted the fact he had a concussion and it was time to shut himself down.

"It was so minor at first that it took some time to realize it might be something more serious," Toews said after taking part in Friday's morning skate, hours before the Hawks 4-3 victory over the Rangers at United Center. "You have to admit it to yourself, but you see so many guys around the league dealing with that right now and you don't want to be one of those guys. It took some time to come to grips with that and realize I had to rest to get better."

Slowly but surely, Toews is getting better. Friday was his second consecutive day on the ice — and first with teammates — for the captain, who last played against the Blues on Feb. 19, a few contests after first experiencing symptoms.

"The toughest thing was … saying that it was something I had to deal with and I couldn't keep playing with," said Toews, who has missed nine consecutive games. "Here I am three weeks later almost, still kind of hanging in there and getting better every day."

While resuming skating is exciting for the uber-competitive Toews, it also is frustrating because he still doesn't have a timeframe for a return to game action.

"I thought a week-and-a-half-ago that I would be playing by now," Toews said. "That might be the most frustrating and difficult thing that I am back on the ice and I feel good out there and I feel like I should be playing in a couple of days.

"But no one else can tell me how I feel. It's up to me to be honest with myself and be smart about it. You learn to play through so many other things, but this might be the one thing that might not be an intelligent thing to do. I'll try to make sure when I'm ready to play I'll be 100 percent and I can do it while not thinking about it at all."

Being honest with themselves and team doctors can be easier said than done with young players who want to do nothing more than play hockey.

"The individuals a lot of times, they know their bodies and they'll know when they're ready," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "At this stage, we've waited this long (so) we want to make sure that (full recovery) is the first priority."

Compounding the recovery process is that this is not Toews' first concussion since being with the Hawks. In October of 2009, the center was sidelined six games after an open-ice hit from the Canucks' Willie Mitchell. Toews said he has exchanged text messages with Penguins star Sidney Crosby, who has been plagued by concussion symptoms for longer than a year.

"You still would be very serious about it if it was a first time for any player but since it's not for myself, the level of urgency goes up a little bit," Toews said. "It has happened before and you see how often it happens to players around the league that you have to be smart about it. I want to make sure … when I come back that I'm reducing the risk of it ever happening again."

Given the history, the 23-year-old admitted he has thought of the toll multiple concussions can have on an athlete after their playing days are done.

"It's hard for any young guy to think about what happens way down the road," Toews said. "To a certain level, sometimes you might feel invincible, like there's nothing that can stop you from playing. Whether it's a knee injury or shoulder injury you don't really think about what it's going to be like 10, 15 years from now. All you're concerned about is getting back to 100 percent and getting to that point where you can play again. When you get a little time to yourself sitting in a dark room at home you do think about that a little bit. Right now, I'll just take it one step at a time and think about the right things to do for this to heal and for myself to feel good again and go from there."